Gary Lineker
England's golden boot winner and Match of the Day legend
Gary Winston Lineker was born on 30 November 1960 in Leicester. His middle name honours Winston Churchill, with whom he shares a birthday. He has one younger brother, Wayne. His father, Barry, ran a fruit and veg stall in Leicester Market, a trade that ran in the family—both his grandfather and great-grandfather were greengrocers. As a child, Lineker helped out on the stall. Despite being white, he was racially abused for his dark features. He attended Caldecote Road School and later the City of Leicester Boys’ Grammar School, choosing it because it offered football over rugby. He captained the Leicestershire Schools cricket team from ages 11 to 16 and thought he had a better chance in cricket, idolising England captain David Gower. He left school with four O Levels; one teacher wrote that he “concentrates too much on football” and would “never make a living at that.” He joined Leicester City’s youth academy in 1976.
Lineker turned professional in the 1978–79 season and made his senior debut on New Year’s Day 1979, a 2–0 win over Oldham Athletic in the Second Division. He earned a Second Division title medal a year later but played only nine league games in 1980–81 as Leicester were relegated. He became a regular in 1981–82, scoring 19 goals. The next season, he scored 26 times in the Second Division as Leicester won promotion. In 1983–84, he was the First Division’s second-highest scorer with 22 goals. He was joint top scorer in 1984–85 with 24 goals, forming a prolific partnership with Alan Smith.
Defending league champions Everton signed him for £800,000 in the 1985 close season. He scored 40 goals in 57 games in 1985–86, again leading the First Division with 30 goals. He won both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards in his debut season. He then moved to Barcelona, winning the 1987–88 Copa del Rey and the 1989 European Cup Winners’ Cup. In 1989, he joined Tottenham Hotspur, winning his second FWA Footballer of the Year and the FA Cup—his only major English club trophy. His final club was Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan, where he played two seasons before retiring in 1994.
Lineker made his England debut in 1984, earning 80 caps and scoring 48 goals over eight years. At retirement, he was England’s second-highest scorer; he now sits fourth, behind Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, and Bobby Charlton, with one of the best goals-to-games ratios for the country. He scored six goals in the 1986 World Cup, winning the Golden Boot as top scorer, and finished second in the 1986 Ballon d’Or. At the 1990 World Cup, he scored four goals as England reached the semi-finals. He never received a yellow or red card in his career and never won a top-flight league title. He received the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1990. Over 16 years and 654 competitive games, he scored 331 goals, including 283 at club level. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. A keen Leicester City supporter, he led a consortium in 2002 that saved the club from bankruptcy and was appointed honorary vice-president.
After football, Lineker began a media career at the BBC, presenting *Match of the Day* from 1999 to 2025—the longest tenure of any host. He also led BBC coverage of live matches and international tournaments like the FIFA World Cup. He has worked for Al Jazeera Sports, Eredivisie Live, NBC Sports Network, and BT Sport’s UEFA Champions League coverage. In 2018, he co-founded Goalhanger, a media company that produces podcasts, notably the “The Rest Is…” series.
- born
- 30 November 1960, Leicester, England
- field
- Footballer, sports broadcaster, businessman
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Only player to be top goalscorer in England with three clubs; 1986 World Cup Golden Boot winner; never received a yellow or red card
Lore & Background
Lineker began his football career at Leicester City in 1978, and finished as the First Division's joint top goalscorer in 1984–85. He then moved to league champions Everton, where he won both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards in his debut season, before moving to Spanish club Barcelona, where he won the 1987–88 Copa del Rey and the 1989 European Cup Winners' Cup. He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1989, and won his second FWA Footballer of the Year and the FA Cup, his only major trophy in English football. Lineker's final club was Nagoya Grampus Eight; he retired in 1994 after two seasons at the Japanese side. Lineker made his England debut in 1984, earning 80 caps and scoring 48 goals over an eight-year international career, which made him England's second-highest goalscorer on his retirement. He remains England's fourth-highest scorer, behind Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney and Bobby Charlton, and his goals-to-games ratio remains one of the best for the country. His six goals in the 1986 World Cup made him the tournament's top scorer, receiving the Golden Boot, and he came second in the 1986 Ballon d'Or. Lineker was again integral to England's progress to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, scoring another four goals. Lineker never received a yellow or red card during his career, and he also never won a top-flight league title. He was honoured in 1990 with the FIFA Fair Play Award. In a senior career which spanned 16 years and 654 competitive games, Lineker scored a total of 331 goals, including 283 goals at club level. After his retirement from football he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. A keen supporter of Leicester City, he led a consortium in 2002 that invested in his old club, saving it from bankruptcy, and was appointed honorary vice-president.
Reader's Guide
Lineker’s playing style as a striker was defined by exceptional positioning, composure, and finishing, making him one of the finest English forwards of his era. He is the only footballer to have been the top league goalscorer for three different English clubs: Leicester City, Everton, and Tottenham Hotspur. Over a 16-year senior career spanning 654 competitive matches, he scored 331 goals, including 283 at club level. His international record for England was equally distinguished: in 80 caps he scored 48 goals, making him England’s second-highest scorer at the time of his retirement, and he still ranks fourth all-time. His six goals at the 1986 World Cup earned him the tournament’s Golden Boot, and he added four more in England’s run to the 1990 World Cup semi-finals. Remarkably, he never received a yellow or red card in his entire professional career, a discipline recognised with the 1990 FIFA Fair Play Award. He won individual honours including the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and two FWA Footballer of the Year awards, but never a top-flight league title; his only major English trophy was the FA Cup with Tottenham. After retiring, he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame and, as a lifelong Leicester City supporter, led a consortium in 2002 that rescued the club from bankruptcy, later becoming its honorary vice-president. His subsequent media career saw him become the longest-serving presenter of the BBC’s *Match of the Day* (1999–2025), and he co-founded the podcast production company Goalhanger in 2018.
Did You Know?
- Lineker is the only player to have been the top goalscorer in England with three clubs: Leicester City, Everton, and Tottenham Hotspur.
- He never received a yellow or red card during his career.
- He was given his middle name Winston in honour of Winston Churchill, with whom he shares a birthday.
- Lineker led a consortium in 2002 that invested in Leicester City, saving it from bankruptcy.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Football is a simple game, twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win." — Gary Lineker "A quote from 1990 cited 28 years later by Finnis, Alex (2018-06-24). Gary Lineker has updated his most famous quote after Germany’s late win over Sweden. iNews." — Gary Lineker "After England were beaten by Germany in the semi-finals of the Italia '90 World Cup." — Gary Lineker "Playing for the MCC against a German XI in a cricket match on 27 August 2002 and scoring a single run before being dismissed." — Gary Lineker
More in Sports Figures
Elsewhere in the Historical Figures universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record